United States fiscal cliff

BELGRADE - The total 2016 budget deficit could be half of the planned level - around 2 pct of GDP, Serbia's Fiscal Council said Monday, noting that fiscal trends in the first seven months of the year had been excellent.

The total 2016 budget deficit could be half of the planned level - around two percent of GDP.

Serbia's Fiscal Council said this on Monday, noting that fiscal trends in the first seven months of the year had been excellent.

According to preliminary figures of the National Statistical Institute (NSI) released on Thursday, Bulgaria's government deficit and debt decreased last year compared to 2014.

The general government institutional sector deficit was in excess of BGN 1.7 B, amounting to 2.1 % of GDP.

Bulgaria's consolidated budget is expected to show a surplus of BGN 952 M for January equivalent to 1.1% of the projected 2016 GDP, according to preliminary data and estimates of the Finance Ministry.

The US Senate passed a bipartisan, two-year budget deal early on Oct. 30 that boosts federal spending by $80 billion, reduces a government shutdown threat and raises the debt ceiling through the end of Barack Obama's presidency.

Bulgaria's Finance Ministry has revised its target for this year's consolidated budget deficit to 3.3% of GDP from originally projected 3.0%.

The revision, which suggests a rise in spending by the end of the year, has been announced alongside the release of the 2016 budget draft and an updated budget forecast for the period 2016-2018 on Monday.

Bulgaria's central government budget showed a surplus of BGN 890M equivalent to 1.1% of the projected 2015 GDP, the Finance Ministry announced on Friday.

This compared with a budget deficit of BGN 996.4M, or 1.2% of GDP at the end of June 2014.

Serbia's Fiscal Council said on Monday that the state's general budget deficit amounted to RSD 5.1 billion in May.

This is "somewhat lower than expected, and significantly better than in the same month of 2014 when the deficit was higher by RSD 18 billion," it was said.

Minister of Finance Dusan Vujovic says the country's budget deficit in May was 1.6 percent of GDP and that he expects it to be two percent of GDP in June.

This amounts to RSD 40 billion.

BELGRADE - The Fiscal Council has noted on Thursday that conditions have not been met to consider rises in pensions and public sector salaries, not only in 2015, but also in the next two years, as in case of this year's increase, the fiscal deficit would as soon as in 2016 practically go back to the level before the introduction of the fiscal consolidation measures.